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A Royal Navy veteran who survived the Arctic convoys and the D-Day landings will have no family at his funeral at Cambridge Crematorium.

But to ensure John Craig does not get a sad, lonely send-off, other veterans and Armed Forces representatives are rallying together, and getting the word out that all are welcome to attend.

Mr Craig, who lived at Saffron Walden, was a hero not only of the Arctic convoys, which defied Hitler's submarines and bombers to ferry food to the Soviet Union, but also of the D-Day landings, the Allied invasion of Europe.

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On D-Day, June 6, 1944, he was aboard a minesweeper near the Normandy beaches and was pitched into the water after it was blown up. The sole survivor of the attack, he was washed ashore, and then was rescued by American troops.

The D- Day landings in France in 1944 - John Craig was aboard a minesweeper (PA Photo)

Repatriated to Britain, he woke up in a hospital in Plymouth 12 days later, to discover he had lost an eye.

In recent years, he was a familiar figure at Remembrance services in Saffron Walden, wearing his medals and the iconic white beret adopted by Arctic convoy veterans.

In 2015, he was one of two veterans to lead the parade to the town's war memorial, laying a wreath which bore the words: "To all my shipmates who never made it back with the tide. Never forgotten."

John in his Royal Navy days

Mr Craig's wife died a few years ago, and because he had no other family, the Royal Naval Association has been using social media to urge people to come to his funeral, on Wednesday (May 10) at 2.30pm.

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Keith Ridley of the Royal Naval Association is encouraging people to attend

Keith Ridley, from St Neots, who is national chairman of the Royal Naval Association, said: "It's terribly sad that after all he went through on the Arctic convoys and on D-Day, there would be no one at his funeral, so we have been asking people to attend.

"As well as ourselves, we have heard from the Royal British Legion, who are asking their members to go along."

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After Germany invaded the Soviet Union in 1941, Soviet leader Joseph Stalin asked for help and Britain and its allies provided supplies. The most direct route was by sea, around northern Norway to the Soviet ports of Murmansk and Archangel. The route passed through a narrow funnel between the Arctic ice pack and German bases in Norway, and many ships were sunk. Crew members also faced extreme cold, heaving seas and pack ice.

The Arctic convoys were subject to extreme weather

Among those going to Mr Craig's funeral will be Albert 'Harry' Eddy, who had his 94th birthday a couple of days ago. He too is a veteran of D-Day and he is going to the crematorium to pay his respects, although the two men never knew each other.

Mr Eddy said: "I know something of what he went through, as I was a Royal Navy man on a landing craft delivering tanks to the beaches. We came under fire and we were hit, but thankfully I wasn't hurt.

"Our sister ship nearby got a direct hit, however, and caught fire, but we somehow managed to tow it back to England.

"I didn't know John, but I'm going along because it wouldn't be right for no one to be there at his funeral. It would be very sad indeed if there wasn't a decent turnout."